Friday, January 30, 2015

What did you die for, soldier?



This poem is a tribute to Col MN Rai of the Indian Army, and thousands of others soldiers who die around the world, hopefully believing a worthy cause. Col Rai’s daughter bid him farewell with the battle cry of his regiment. It made me wonder, will she grow up wanting revenge, or peace?

What did you die for, soldier?
Was it for your daughter
Who bid you farewell
With the battle cry of your regiment?
Was it for your fellow soldiers
Who responded to your daughter’s cry
And stood with her in solidarity?
Was it for the country
That decorated you with a medal
For guarding its borders?
Was it for me
A citizen you never knew,
Who wonders where her loyalties lie?
Am I disloyal to you soldier,
If I have friends across the border
And whose children are dear to me as my own?
Am I disrespecting you soldier,
For sharing a dream with these friends
For a borderless world?
I applaud your commitment soldier
But forgive me, I do not understand
What you were committed to.
Was it for a concept called India
Or against an idea called Pakistan?
I am proud of the land I come from
I am grateful to the Earth and her resources here
For making us who we are.
I am a product of the people of this land,
Cradled in its culture and nurtured in its values.
I am proud to claim my Indianness.
But forgive me, soldier
If my Indianness does not reject other identities.
I am sorry, soldier
But my loyalties do not lie
With two governments keeping a war alive
For reasons I cannot comprehend.
Did you die for the India in me, soldier
Or for the idea of India that is at war
Against a concept called Pakistan?
Countries are but notions
We created to embody ideas we reject in us
Are we a race that glorifies killing each other
Over mere ideas we do not accept?
I have a conundrum in me and no answers
But I pray that you rest in peace, soldier.
I hope, in your death,
You have given life to an idea of peace
In your daughter who cries for you.
I hope she learns to overcome
The idea of borders that killed you.

1 comment:

shridhar said...

Very thoughtful. Vasudaiv kutumbkam